Reckonings of Fate A Prologue
by Sabriel Shur'tugal
Summary: After the Destroyer was vanquished, Lirael and Co. trudge back to reality. This is a prologue; real story happens in next chapter, with about a year after. Ellimere shows the beginnings of a truant, Lirael is undergoing heavy training by Sabriel...


Disclaimer: The Abhorsen trilogy is owned by Garth Nix, though I wish I did. This story will be happening right after Abhorsen, and I mean right after. Read and review! This is my first fanfic, I used to write only original things before.... PROLOGUE  
  
The group of people saw Nick, who waved, feeling rather foolish to do so under such circumstances. He recognized Sam, two people who must be Sam's parents, a tired but still seemingly regal girl that was undoubtedly Ellimere, two blonde twins who were speaking to each other in undertones, and Lirael.  
At the sight of Lirael, Nick remembered Death, and the Disreputable Dog, and what happened before he fell. Nick's legs weakened by the full realization of what happened, and he swayed where he stood, about to collapse, but not before Sam's father reached him. His brief journey into Death had not cured his bodily wounds.  
"Steady now, Nick." Touchstone put his arms around Nick and lifted him. "I can't believe it! You're alive! The Dog must have..." Touchstone stopped in his tracks. "But... by god, man!" He called to Sabriel over his shoulder. "He has the Charter mark on his forehead!" Nick heard footsteps coming over, and he lifted his head slightly to look at the surroundings. But there were none. All that stood there is a great barren plain, stretching as far as the eye can see. Like a desert in Ancelstierre, he thought grimly. All dry, cracked earth, but no sand. Besides the two blonde women, Sabriel, Touchstone, Ellimere, Sam, Lirael, the white cat and himself, there were no living beings to be seen.  
A thought struck his mind. He turned and stopped, as he saw Sam, carrying Lirael, peering over at him. "Nick... mate..." he breathed. Before Nick could reply, he felt Sabriel put her finger on his forehead. Then a faint light briefly illuminated his vision. Nick gasped, and sudden warmth spread through him, along with an inexplicable joy that danced in his heart. A new kind of comfort that he had never felt before suddenly existed in him. Sabriel withdrew her hand, and the feeling disappeared. Nick felt as if a new part of his body existed, though he couldn't place it. Sabriel whispered something to Touchstone, who nodded and shook his head in disbelief.  
"Wait!" cried Nick. "Where will we go? The Southerlings, my lightning farm... the Destroyer..." he paused as thunder rumbled in the distance. Touchstone set his face in grim determination. "We must get out of here, quickly." The others doubled their speed. "Lirael," Nick began. He turned his head and looked at Lirael, who was clutching a figure of a dog, which looked to be made out of soapstone. Tears were running down her face. The two blonde women (Clayr? Nick thought fuzzily) were silent, almost melancholy, as they wiped her brow and passed light through their hands into her chest. But Lirael didn't seem to notice. She closed her eyes and hugged the dog statue tighter with one hand. Nick's eyes traveled to her other hand, which was--- not there. In its place was a bloody stump, which was glowing faintly as Ellimere spelled it. Blood was flowing down her and Sam's surcoats. Nick shuddered. "Wha—what happened?" he asked weakly.  
"Hush," whispered Sabriel to him. "These things we will explain later. Now you need to rest." Touchstone nodded in agreement.  
Rest. It sounded good to Nick. He looked up. Touchstone is strong, and Nick had lost a lot of weight, so the king probably won't drop him if he slept. He began to feel sleep getting a hold on his already tired body. He felt warm, dusty air lightly brush against him.  
Nick's eyes closed, and Sabriel called forth the Charter marks of peace, sleep, and rest to lie down on his body.  
  
Sam held Lirael tightly, trying his best not to hurt her again. Upon finding Lirael, he disabled her to feel her the agony of nerves in her left arm, and Sanar and Ryelle had cast powerful healing marks on her, but he doubted if she cared. Her oldest, most loving friend, the Disreputable Dog, has gone, gone forward into Death, leaving her alone. Well, not exactly alone, as Lirael had a new family now, and a new life ahead of her, but Sam understood her pain. A part of her had simply disappeared. Not only that, Lirael was the one who was supposed to die. Not the Dog. Not her best friend. She was suspended in some sort of shock.  
Who wasn't? Sam thought grimly. What was once an abundant part of Ancelstierre is the middle of nowhere now, and he was bursting with questions with no answers. Sabriel and Touchstone seemed to know something though, judging from their whispered conversations, and the way they looked at Nick, but Ellimere had prevented him from asking questions. They'll explain later, she assured him, quite half-heartedly. The two Clayr weren't helping. They walked like they weren't weary, and they kept an almost uncanny silence between them.  
For now, Sam has nothing to do but to hold his aunt close and try to ease her pain.  
  
Two hours later, Sanar and Ryelle looked up at the same time and pointed to the North. "Behold, there is Life."  
True enough, a hazy outline of trees greeted them, with a faint line of gray that had to be the wall. Built by the Wallmakers, Sam thought with apprehension and delight. My predecessors. The sight heartened the company. They pushed their weary feet further and poured extra strength down their legs. Sabriel whistled the tone of Kibeth, and the sound enveloped them, giving them joy and light of heart. They pushed on, wanting the comfort of trees and cool shade, and other living beings. The Destroyer's final blast had only been a futile attempt to do destroy all those nearby, and it had affected everything within a ten-mile radius. Sam hesitated. What happened to the Southerlings? As they neared the trees, the glint of laminated paper and golden eyes greeted them from the edge of the land. "The Paperwings!" Ellimere breathed. "How did they get here?" Sabriel laughed. "You forget that they have a life of their own, do you not? They do whatever is right for them to do." They reached the Paperwings. They were undamaged, save for one, which has a little scratch on its nose. Sanar and Ryelle got into the green and silver one. "Farewell, Saviors of this world and the next. We go back to the Glacier. The Clayrs must See if all is truly well." Touchstone protested. "We couldn't have done it alone, you know. You both were a part of this as we were." The Clayr smiled and bowed their heads, before turning to Lirael. "Never forget that you are a Daughter of the Clayr, sighted or not. You have done more than what we all can have done together." Lirael smiled, and held out her hand. The Clayr clasped their hands with hers, and then turned to the Paperwing. "Goodbye." They sat down, and Sanar (or was it Ryelle?) whistled. The Paperwing jumped, and cleared the trees. A good north wind was blowing, and the Paperwing weaved in and out of the clouds. Queer sounds came from above, and Sam had the strange feeling that the two melancholy Clayr were up in the Paperwing shrieking their heads off with victory against the Destroyer. The thought instantly banished from his mind when he realized that there were only two Paperwings left. That left Lirael and Nick. "Mother," he turned to her, troubled. "What about aunt Lirael and Nick?" "Sameth," Sabriel said with a little sigh. "How many wings---I mean times do I have to tell you that---"she was cut off by another Paperwing landing in front of them, sending up a small shower of dirt. "These things have a life of their own." "We'll go to the House. I suppose you and Ellimere will want explaining, and Lirael and Nick need rest." Touchstone gently set Nick on a paperwing and stretched his arms. "You forget me!" he exclaimed. Lirael suddenly laughed, her voice a gentle peal that heartened those who heard it. The Paperwings jumped in the air, and a few hours later of moist clouds and harsh wind, they landed in the island of the House. A strange silence enveloped the House, the Sendings appearing only to take the baggage, fully aware of the secrets to be unraveled in the following hours. Please review! I'm going to go on with Chapter 1 to Chapter God-knows-how- long if I get some go-signals. Chapter 1 will deal with explaining what happened and what will happen. Hint: Lirael will have a child... Ellimere will turn into a power-hungry royal...tries to (gasp!) destroy Wall! Remember, this is my first time to write fanfiction.... cringe cringe... 


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